In the aftermath of Wednesdays strike, the dispute over the Bill on
labour relations is intensified in Parliament. "The 8-hour working
scheme is not violated. Instead, it is protected and secured," pointed
out the Development Minister Panos Panagiotopoulos. On the other hand,
the Opposition parties voiced their objection to the reforms. PASOK
leader Giorgos Papandreou lashed a severe criticism at the government
and spoke of an intervention at the expense of the working class as
well as of an utter overthrow of the established labour relations. He
also repeated that his party will abolish the reforms as soon as it
assumes power. On his part, Mr Panagiotopoulos reacted strongly and
accused PASOK of being inconsistent and citing false claims. Earlier,
KKE had backed out of the discussion underlying that the Bill marks the
return to the 1900s labour regime. Finally, SYN demanded the Bill be
withdrawn.

Panagiotopoulos-Papandreou Clash

Opposition leader Giorgos Papandreou described the Bill as a "Token of
governmental incompetence, social injustice and arrogant
authoritarianism revealing NDs class preference." At the same time,
referring to the issue of working time management, Mr Papandreou spoke
of a "time bomb" to every Greek family and accused the government of
favouring abuse of power.

PASOK leader also accused the ruling party of not being willing to
change and wishing to manipulate the Church, the Justice, the Public
Administration and the Mass Media. He further added that PASOK embraces
people and that, based on ideology and not on mere oppositional ends,
it will abolish the labour reforms as soon as it assumes power.

Development Minister used an extremely harsh tongue against Papandreous
criticism. After repeating that the 8-hour working scheme is not
abolished but secured by imposing sanctions, Mr Panagiotopoulos
requested disinformation and propaganda on the so called executive
right be ceased.

Answering to the accusation regarding NDs intervention at the expense
of the working class, Mr Panagiotopoulos said, "Simitis government made
a pact with the most speculative business activities, which looted the
Athens Stock Exchange."

KKE Backed Out

Earlier, Mr Panagiotopoulos crossed fire with KKEs Secretary General
Aleka Papariga with the latter announcing KKEs refusal to participate
in the discussion.

"The Bill demolishes what was left by PASOKs raid," pointed out KKEs
Secretary General and claimed that the reforms in question re-establish
the 19th centurys working conditions.

Ms Papariga mentioned that KKEs objective is to prevent employees from
coming to terms with the Bill and concluded, "When such issues arise in
the middle of the summer time, they must be sabotaged."

On his part, the Development Minister expressed his sorrow over KKEs
stance and made it clear that the analyses of the 19th century fail to
confront the 21st centurys perplexity.

"The government aims at favouring prosperity through a free but not
uncontrollable market in a way that averts social exclusion and
restores the balances needed," Mr Panagiotopoulos said.

PASOK's spokesperson Evagelos Venizelos attributed political absence to
the government, "There are pirated policies that constitute a farce,"
he claimed. SYN's rapporteur Giannis Dragasakis posed a torrent of
questions to the Development Minister. "Employees in Delta and
Petalouda have no unions. What about the working time management there?
Will a registry book be introduced?", he wondered.

"Those who attempt to stir up fear and upset the Greek citizens are
exposed and they are bound to fail, because the government is not
abolishing the 8-hour working scheme. Instead we are protecting and
monitoring it," stated Development Minister Panos Panagiotopoulos.

"While Giannitsis Law allowed up to 12 hours a day, our law allows up
to 10 hours under strict conditions and not for more than two months.
This tool was not invented by ND, it is in force in the European
countries and was introduced by PASOK's governments," Mr
Panagiotopoulos concluded. The Bill is expected to be voted for by the
ruling party's MPs on Thursday's morning nominal voting.

Greek Health Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis launched accusations
concerning the loss of millions of euros due to lack of organisation
within the National Health System (ESY). Mr Kaklamanis noted that the
number of employees and beds in public hospitals have not been recorded
correctly, 22 people working in Patras were listed twice in the pay
rolls, while people who were in no way connected to ESY were receiving
salaries. He also revealed a circuit that embezzled money from
check-ups at Larisas, as well as the chaos regarding the commissions
for the health material in every hospital. At the sometime, he said
that during the 22 years ESY the number of beds in many hospitals has
not been recorded correctly, thus making it impossible to know the
exact number of the nurses and administrative employees that each
region has. The Minister also made public the findings of the sworn
administrative inquiry over the cases of gastroenteritis at Iraklio
Hospital, where it was noted that the outbreak was due to the
unsanitary conditions in the kitchen, while those responsible will be
penalised with loss of income. At the same time, the Prefecture of
Athens impounded 373kg of food unfit for consumption, mainly fish,
which were to be delivered to Alexandra Hospital, Athens.

Focus on Settlement of Debts

Mr Kaklamanis revealed that 22 people in Patras, who were in no way
connected to ESY, were receiving salaries. The issue has been forwarded
to the Public Prosecutor, while the amounts that have been illegally
collected exceed 500,000 euros.

According to the Health Ministry, during the 22 years ESY has been
operating, approximately 3,000 employees were getting paid without
being entitled to.

Furthermore, the number of beds in many hospitals has not been recorded
correctly, which could be attributed to the fact that the salary of the
department heads depends on the number of beds in each unit.

The Health Ministry also focused on the settlement of the debts, which
amount to 3 billion euros for the period 2001-2004. The settled debts
are at 2.5 billion euros, while the exact amount will become known in
the next two weeks.

As per Mr Kaklamanis, the measures that are being promoted by the
Ministry in order to put an end to the shocking incidents recorded
within ESY include the creation of a register of hospitals and
suppliers, the implementation of fund management, the placement of
control mechanisms, and the creation of database of hospitals and
suppliers, which will be submitted to Parliament.

"For a second consecutive year, the problems are not being dealt with.
Instead, they are being brought up acuter and are being multiplied in
almost all hospitals nationwide, while a series of deliberate actions
or omissions undermine the national health system," commented PASOKs
parliamentarian Evagelos Venizelos, who accused the government of
lacking will and a well-thought plan on ESY (Greek National Health
System).

"Although an excellent constitutionalist, Mr Venizelos needs to apply
himself to a great deal of work and study to become fully aware of the
health and social solidarity issues. I am not convinced whether his
statements favour his political aspirations. What I am certain of is
that they offer no help to the improvement of the services provided by
ESY," Health Minister replied.

Heavy Penalties for Iraklio Hospital

In the meantime, as per the findings of the sworn administrative
inquiry over the cases of gastroenteritis at Iraklio Hospital, health
inspector Maria Kypraki and the supervisor of the food section, Fotini
Tsangaraki, were penalised with loss of income for two months. In
addition, each cook was penalised with loss of income for ten days and
a written admonition by the hospitals administrative director,
Panagiotis Konidakis.

The disease, which was caused by intestinal salmonella, broke out on 20
July and infected 116 people. As per Mr Kaklamanis, the Hospital
reacted immediately and contained the disease. According to the
findings, the cases of gastroenteritis in patients and employees were
due to the unsanitary conditions in the kitchen. Actually, three days
earlier, no washing detergent was used in the dishwashers, while the
pots are cleaned solely with salt and water.

According to the findings, the 116 cases of gastroenteritis in patients
and employees were due to the unsanitary conditions in the kitchen.
Actually, three days earlier, no washing detergent was used in the
dishwashers, while the pots are cleaned solely with salt and water.

In the meantime, the Prefecture of Athens impounded 373kg of food unfit
for consumption, which were to be delivered to Alexandra Hospital. A
team of controllers located the food, mainly frozen fish, in a freezer
truck, as it was arriving at the hospital. It was discovered that the
cooling system was not working and the temperature within the truck was
between 10.4 and 13.8 degrees Celsius, as opposed to the recommended 18
degrees Celsius for the transfer of frozen food.

The meeting between British PM Tony Blair, who currently holds the
rotating EU presidency, and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, focused on Turkey signing the customs union protocol with the
10 new Member-States. Mr Blair stated that signing the document does
not necessarily constitute the recognition of the Cypriot Republic. On
his part, Mr Erdogan told the Turkish Media that the protocol would be
signed soon, but Turkey would not be recognising Cyprus, unless the
matter is settled. "It is simply important for us to restate the legal
fact, which is the signing of the protocol does not involve the
recognition of Cyprus," Blair said, while he noted that this was also
stipulated by the EU leaders in December, as well as last month.
Erdogan said his country would sign the customs union soon, but did not
give an exact date. "There is no difference with our approach. We hope
that it will be adopted as soon as possible, so we can commence
negotiations on 3 October," declared Mr Erdogan. The Greek Foreign
Ministry spokesperson G. Koumoutsakos commented, "It is obvious that
the refusal on the part of a candidate state to recognise a
Member-State constitutes an institutional and political paradox, which
must be dealt with as soon as possible."

Awaiting the Accompanying Declaration

However, the European leaders are awaiting the content of the
accompanying declaration, in which Turkey would be stating that it
would not be recognising Cyprus, in order to determine whether it
coincides with the European Councils decisions for the commencement of
accession talks.

During his interview to the Turkish reporters after his meeting with
Tony Blair, Mr Erdogan noted that it would be wrong on the part of
Greece, as well as other countries, to reintroduce the matter of the
Aegean, which is being discussed on a bilateral level between Athens
and Ankara, in the accession talks.

Yesterday, the British PM met with the President of the Cypriot
Republic, Tassos Papadopoulos to discuss the developments, while they
concluded that the reunification of the island constituted a priority.
Cypriot spokesperson Kypros Christostomidis stated that during the
meeting the introduction of a well-structured dialogue was agreed in
order to create a continuous and direct contact with the view to
clarifying the two sides stances on the EU issues, dispelling, at the
same time, any rumours or speculations. "Stances on the EU issues
coincide, while a common declaration referring to the promotion of
unifying our country has been uttered," said Mr Christostomidis and he
added that the British PMs contribution has been positive. Regarding
Turkeys obligations towards the EU, he said that Mr Blair was explicit,
"All countries wishing to become EU members are obliged to adopt and
fall in line with the same standards."

SDOE (Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit) and General Chemical State
Laboratory checks in Greece revealed shocking evidence of alcohol
adulteration, since some of the alcoholic beverages served in bars and
restaurants in Attica were up to 100% spiked. Most of the cases were
recorded in nightclubs operating along the coastal road, while spiked
beverages were also located in other parts of Attica. According to the
General Chemical State Laboratory of Greece, 20% of the whiskey, 65% of
the vodka and 100% of the rum and tequila samples were found to be
adulterated. The checks were performed in 39 nightclubs, but the
Economy Ministry has not named the businesses. However, as was
published today in the newspaper Ta Nea, quoting Ministry sources, they
are the most popular beach clubs. As per SDOE, any businesses found
serving spiked drinks will be prosecuted for illegal smuggling, while
they may even lose their operational licences.

Dangerous to Health

As Pharmacology Professor Nikos Choulis explained to the newspaper, one
of the main ingredients contained in spiked drinks, methanol, is very
dangerous to health, especially if consumed in large quantities. The
Professor also noted that it is very hard for a lot of people to
realise that their drinks are spiked.

The symptoms are usually headache and dizziness, while their
manifestation depends on the individual. They become more intense if
greater quantities are consumed, leading to fainting episodes.
Furthermore, excessive consumption may even lead to death.

Great Number of Tax Evaders

Spiked drinks do not only affect health, but also public finances.

As per the Economy Ministry, those drinks are produced in illegal
distilleries and then they are bottled and distributed to the market.

The networks that distribute illegal drinks make millions of euros in
profits, as they do not pay any consumption tax, while they use
low-quality ingredients during production.

Furthermore, the Ministry checks revealed that 70% of the businesses
that were controlled evaded taxes, with the main violation being the
non-issuing of receipts.

The biggest pedophilia trial ever been recorded in France was concluded
with heavy penalties for the accused. The unveiling of the rings sordid
actions, which had been developed in the undermined neighbourhoods of
the town of Angers in January 2002, resulted in taking to stand 39 men
and 26 women. They were all accused of sexually abusing 45 children
aged six months to 14 years old. Three of the masterminds of the
pedophilia ring, known as Philippe, Franck V. and Patricia M. were
sentenced to 28, 18 and 16 years in prison respectively.

During the 5-month trial proceedings, the evidence was gruesome. Many
of the accused were the childrens parents or close relatives, aged 27
to 37 years old, who lured the victims in exchanged of small amounts,
food or even cigarettes.

Children's Souls Fell Prey to Perversion

Dozens of children fell prey to sick perversion in the French city of
Angers. The disclosures to everything that had been taking placing
between January 1999 and February 2002 left the judges, the jury and
the French people speechless. Suspects were not identified by full
names because of French laws designed to preserve the anonymity of
child victims.

Franck B. and Patricia M. are believed to have hosted in their house
most of their sordid deeds. Franck was also sentenced for raping his
three children.

Two more brothers received 28 and 26 years in prison as a result of
their involvement in the ring. Eric was described as an "ogre" and was
known to the children as "the fatty", Jean-Marc was his brother.

As per correspondents, the majority of the accused were unemployed
living off benefits in state-supported housing. Most of them did not
say much during the trial proceedings and appeared confused. 20 out of
the 66 accused confessed to their wrongdoing, while others said they
knew nothing of the ring. According to their lawyers, the evidence is
not sufficient. They also claimed that some of the accused had suffered
sexual abuse as children themselves.

The idea of creating a joint front between Western and Islamic
countries to combat terrorism was at the focus of the meeting held
today in London between the British PM Tony Blair and his Spanish peer
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The two leaders said that they aim at
developing an "alliance of civilizations" to "eradicate terrorism. "I
firmly believe that this proposal can be put forward within the
upcoming months," Tony Blair pointed out. He also made it clear that
the term alliance was introduced to indicate that we are not in a clash
of civilizations. "Its the terrorists who want to stir up these
differences between Islam and the rest of the world," he concluded.
Furthermore, Blair and Zapatero reflected on the measures to be taken
in order to "combat the misconception of Islam" and to "avert the
involvement of young Muslims to radical groups."

The inter-ministerial committee for the denationalizations held a
meeting on Wednesday afternoon at the Economy Ministry, and decided to
extend the negotiations with the Olympic Investors regarding the sale
of the Olympic Airways. The Economy, Transport and Development
Ministers also participated in the meeting. The committee was briefed
over OA denationalization process by the Greek Publics finance and
legal advisor, while as per information, a relevant memorandum is to be
signed with the interested party. The memorandum will be non-binding
upon the Greek Public Sector.

After ending fourth at last summers Athens Olympic Games, the Greek
national water polo team advanced to the semi-finals at the World
Championships in Montreal, Canada. The Greek team achieved a 13-9
victory over Italy and made it to the semi-finals, where it is to play
against Hungary on Friday at 4:30am (Greek local time).

On the contrary, the Greek womens team did not make it to the
semi-finals. Although the Greek team played well, the Canadians won an
overtime thriller with 8-6. Greece now aims at the fifth place in the
tournament. Koulis Iosifidis team will play tomorrow at 19:00 (Greek
local time) against Germany and it will fight for the victory in order
to be able to claim the fifth place against the winner of the
Italy-Australia match.

Aristeidis Grigoriadis of Greece finished sixth at the 100m back final
at the World Championships. The Greek swimmer clocked 54.61 finishing
the race approximately a second behind Aaron Peirsol who won the gold
medal. Randall Ball was second and Cseh Laszlo finished third.

Another Greek swimmer will be swimming at the World Championships
final. Giannis Drymonakos made it to the 200m butterfly final. The
Greek champion clocked 1:57.09 and finished first in the first
preliminary heat. His time is a new Greek record. The previous Greek
record was also set by Drymonakos on June 11, 2004, at the test event
for the 2004 Olympic Games.

Greek Divers Finished Eighth

Finally, Giannis Gabriilidis and Sotiris Trakas finished eighth at the
Mens 10m Sunchro Platform. The Greek duo collected 325.62 points. It is
noteworthy that they had also finished eighth at the events
preliminaries. The Russian divers Dobroskok Dmitry and Galperin Gleb
collected 392.88 points and won the gold medal. The Chinese pair with
Yang Jinghui and Hu Jia finished second and the British Peter
Waterfield and Leon Taylor won the third place.

More than 100 volunteers are digging around the clock 18 km northeast
of the great Hellenistic city of Pergamos to save Allianoi. It is a
unique ancient town, which will sink 17m underwater this coming
November. Along with the town, the sole thermal bath complex of the
Hellenistic and Roman era will also be lost forever under the waters of
a river, since the damp that is being constructed will flood the
valley. Faced with this dilemma, Dr Ahmet Yaras, Professor of
Archaeology and leader of the excavations, has sounded the alarm.
"Allianoi is one of the most unspoiled settlements in the area. The
Yortanli dam will bury the place, before we have time to dig it all up
and study it," pointed out Dr Yaras. According to the findings so far,
Allianoi was one of the most significant thermal bath complexes of
antiquity, while it is also mentioned by ancient author Aristides, in
his book Hieroi Logoi.

In Need of Funds and Time

The complex combined all the contemporary methods used in antiquity.

It included therapy with the use of spas, which are still running, as
well as conventional methods, such as surgery, evidenced by the dozens
of medical instruments discovered in the area.

It also consisted of public buildings and amazing mosaics, while
significant archaeological finds, such as statues depicting Nymphs and
Asclepius, keep coming to light daily.

In addition, important Byzantine monuments, including Basilicas and
Necropoles, are being discovered, thus demonstrating that the
destruction of this archaeological site would constitute a crime
against world history and has to be dealt with immediately.

Dr Yaras, who is also the Director of the Pergamos Museum, declared
that time and funds are urgently needed to finish the dig, while he
added that the whole place cannot be excavated on time, even if every
one of the volunteers used earthmovers.